What Hannibal Lecter Tells Us About Donald Trump
No, not THAT
Donald Trump really likes Hannibal Lecter.
Can’t stop talking about the guy. The secondary antagonist/protagonist of The Silence of the Lambs is part of Trump’s stump speech now.1
He’ll be talking about how dumb Biden is — or Kamala, or whoever the Dems latch onto in desperation next — and then he’ll just start musing about Hannibal. He’s done it several times now, including at the RNC.
Here’s one from just the other day:
It seems to have some connection, in his keen analytical mind, with immigration. When he talks about asylum seekers, he connects “asylum” with “insane asylum.” And who’s the most famous asylum inmate of all time?
No, not me. I’m not famous.
Lecter, despite spending most of the film2 locked in a cell, is the most enduring character. He’s a pop culture icon, right up there with Dracula and Darth Vader.
“I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.” You can hear it in your head, can’t you? With the creepy slurping sound and everything.
Hannibal became a franchise, with several mediocre sequels and a pretty damn good TV show.3 He’s the guy everybody loves to hate. Or hates to love.
He’s a fascinating villain. So revolting, and so gleefully okay with it, that you almost admire him. That’s what made him famous.
Gee, I wonder why Trump feels such an affinity with him?
